Turn on the Light
by Lady of Parchment and Ink
Summary: "Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." The Light bends time and space and Hermione Granger finds herself in 1979. Desperate to change the future she has witnessed firsthand, she works to restore the balance between Light and Dark. AU; eventual Sirmione. New chapter every Monday night. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not I.**

On the nineteenth of September, nineteen seventy-nine, a small, squalling girl with an abundance of golden brown curls was born to a Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Mr. Granger, a professor of Greek Mythology at a university in London insisted that they name their daughter Hermione, after the Greek god Hermes, who was exceedingly witty and was able to transition between various worlds with ease. It was not until eleven years later that they would find out how accurate they had been in their choice of name for their daughter.

One warm summer afternoon, just a few months shy of young Hermione's eleventh birthday, a rather odd man appeared on their doorstep. The man was dressed in a style they'd never seen before, with sweeping midnight blue robes and a tall pointed hat. His eyes twinkled behind his half moon spectacles, and he introduced himself to Hermione and her parents as Albus Dumbledore. He informed her that she was indeed a very special young girl, and that she was a witch. He then proceeded to offer Hermione a spot at his school, someplace called Hogwarts.

It was from that moment onwards that Hermione's life changed forever. Of course, she'd always known that she was different. You couldn't be as intelligent as Hermione Granger and not notice that you were also slightly peculiar.

The months leading up to Hermione's departure for her first year at Hogwarts were filled with both excitement and anxiety. She experienced, for the first time, the dazzling colours, sounds, and smells of Diagon Alley, and felt an overwhelming warmth tingle up her arm as Ollivander handed her a wand of her very own - ten and a quarter inches, vinewood with a core of dragon heartstring. She cherished that wand dearly, for it was a tangible connection to the wizarding world; a reminder that it wasn't just all some wonderful daydream. Of course, she also loved her schoolbooks, and had read every one of them by the time August took it's last breath.

On September first, nineteen ninety-one, Hermione Granger waved madly out the window of the scarlet Hogwarts Express as her parents tearfully watched their special little girl ride away in a cloud of steam. Her first glimpse of the castle filled her heart with so much excitement, she thought that she might burst. When the Sorting Hat proclaimed to the Great Hall that she was to become a Gryffindor, she was immediately enveloped with such a feeling of belonging that she had never before felt in her life. The stone halls of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry became her home, her haven.

In her first year at Hogwarts, Hermione forged an unbreakable friendship with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, two boys who, at first glance, did not seem to be special or especially remarkable in any way. Hermione, however, held her best friends in extremely high regard, despite them often being rather pigheaded. On Halloween night of their first year, when Ron and Harry miraculously defeated a mountain troll to save Hermione's life, it was merely the beginning in the series of misadventures and tragedies that would eventually bring the wizarding world to its knees. Every year Hermione's happy home at Hogwarts became permeated with a little more darkness, its blackness staining their lives and their souls a little at a time. Despite this fact, the Trio endured, through encounters with all manner of horrible things - from basilisks to dementors to none other than Lord Voldemort himself.

It was the fall of nineteen ninety-seven, when Hermione Granger should have been heading back to Hogwarts for her seventh year, herself, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley found themselves in the most dire straits they had encountered so far. After many deaths on the side of the Light, Voldemort was slowly but surely prevailing, and the trio set upon a mission that none other than Albus Dumbledore had left to them upon his own death - hunt down all seven of Voldemort's Horcruxes, abominable objects which housed pieces of Voldemort's soul, ensuring his eternal life and the Lights defeat if they were unsuccessful. They travelled for months, sleeping in a small tent, and enduring endless sleepless nights worrying if they would survive the night.

The final battle took place on the second of May, nineteen ninety-eight. Thus far, five of the seven Horcruxes had been destroyed, and only two remained. The battle raged within the walls of Hogwarts castle, and for the first time in her seventeen years of life, Hermione felt nothing other than dread when she beheld the stone walls of the castle that had nurtured her for many years before. Death was everywhere, and curses flew in the night, lighting the world with their colours.

A gut wrenching scream tore itself from Hermione's throat as she watched Ron tumble to the cold stone floor, a puddle of dark blood rapidly forming underneath his body, his eyes no longer seeing. At that moment, Hermione felt as though she would shatter, as if she was made of glass. With an uncaring slash of her arm, she threw a curse at the Death Eater who had felled Ron, and he slammed into the stone wall with a dull, crunching thud. Collapsing to her knees before the body of the man she had grown up with, the man she had foolishly hoped she would spend the rest of her life with, Hermione let out a keening wail. Closing her eyes, forgetting the battle that still raged around them, she remembered the first time she'd met the gangly redhead…

"Have you seen a toad, by any chance?" Hermione peeked her bushy head into a random compartment. "A boy named Neville's lost one." The compartment's occupants, a rather small, skinny boy with black hair who looked as though it'd never been combed, and another boy, gangly with a shock of red hair and a smattering of freckles, looked at her in astonishment. Noticing that they boy with the red hair was holding his wand, Hermione brightened considerably.

"Oh! Are you doing magic? Let's see then!" The boy nervously cleared his throat.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow!" A loud bang shot from the end of his wand, and the rat that had previously been sitting quietly on his lap scampered away. Hermione looked critically at the boy.

"Are you sure that's a real spell? I've tried a few at home and they've all worked for me." She marched over and sat on the seat across from the boy with the dark hair, who stared worriedly at her from behind a pair of broken spectacles as she pointed her wand at him. "For example, oculus reparo!" With a wave of her wand and a sharp snapping noise, the boy's glasses were as good as new. Shocked, he pulled them off his face to examine them, and as he did, Hermione caught sight of a distinctive lightning shaped scar on his forehead.

"Holy cricket! You're Harry Potter!" She breathed. The boy looked at her sheepishly. "I'm Hermione Granger," she introduced herself, beaming. "And you are?" She questioned the boy with the red hair, who was rather obnoxiously stuffing his face.

"Ron Weasley." He mumbled through a mouthful of food. Hermione grimaced.

"Pleasure."

Choking back another sob, Hermione clutched Ron's limp body to her chest, and looked through her tears at the scene around her. Their friends were falling all around them, and in the middle of the destruction, Harry was duelling Voldemort. Hermione sobbed openly, not caring when curses caressed her skin, leaving paths of fire in their wake. She pounded desperately on Ron's chest, willing him to just wake up, please wake up, when she felt something inside his jacket. Unable to stop herself, she reached a blood soaked hand into his pocket, and pulled out the Deluminator.

Unbidden, the words Dumbledore had spoken to the assembly of students at Cedric Diggory's memorial in their fifth year, filled her head.

Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. It was as if those words filled her very soul; turn on the light, turn on the light, turn on the light. They filled her very being until Hermione felt she would explode with them. Unable to stop herself, she slowly but surely clicked the Deluminator. As if in slow motion, a golden ball of light floated up into the air and unhurriedly sunk into Hermione's chest, right in between her breasts. A warm wind momentarily enveloped her, before she was engulfed in a whirlwind of light and colour.

 **AN: Hello again my lovelies! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Do not fear, for I have several chapters prewritten and will hopefully be updating this story regularly as I already have almost the entire thing outlined. Leave me a review if you liked it!**

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	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not I.**

May second, nineteen seventy-nine was shaping up to be a rather ordinary day. The sun shone golden and warm down onto the grounds of Hogwarts, where a group of young students were lounging beside the Black Lake. One boy, his skin marred with scars and his sandy blonde hair falling into his brown eyes slightly, sat beneath a large oak tree, his nose in a book. Another boy, rather rotund, with runny blue eyes and an extraordinarily large set of ears, was being mercilessly teased by a third boy, who had long wavy black hair and piercing grey eyes. Their antics were being watched fondly by a fourth boy, with black hair that looked as though it had never seen a comb before, and hazel eyes filled with laughter, who had his arms around a smiling witch with stunning red hair and laughing green irises.

"C'mon Sirius it's not funny…" The third boy whined, his voice high pitched with complaint.

"I'm just saying mate, that it's not every day that a bloke manages to get slapped by a girl from Hufflepuff." The boy named Sirius snickered, his grey eyes dancing. "They're supposed to be all nice and stuff."

The boy reading under the tree looked up from his novel, scoffing slightly. "Padfoot, I believe you yourself have been slapped by Audrey Bones no less than four times and she's also in Hufflepuff."

"Remus has got you there," The fourth boy broke in with mirth in his voice. The witch in his arms elbowed him slightly, causing him to wince.

"James, don't encourage them." She snapped, but her face was smiling. James looked down at her, utter and complete adoration on his face. "Of course Lily-Flower, anything for you." He simpered, and Sirius mimed being sick at the two lovebirds. Remus, however, looked wistfully at the smitten pair.

"I can't believe this is our last afternoon at Hogwarts…" He whispered, and a shadow fell over the previously blissful group. Their thoughts were all in the same place; there had recently been whisperings of a Dark wizard who was beginning to gain power and influence, a wizard who had outdated notions of blood-purity and status and who could throw the wizarding world into a war the likes of which they'd never seen.

His brows furrowed, Sirius Black gazed out over the dark glassy waters of the Black Lake. His brows wrinkled even further as he spotted a rainbow of colour and light beginning to form in the clouds above the still waters. His mouth opened in a yelp of both fear and wonder as the sky split open, and a small figure was spat from the sky, falling limply through the air before plunging into the icy waters, causing ripples along the water's surface. Without a second thought, James, Sirius and Remus are all on their feet, diving into the cold water without hesitation. Lily and Peter stand frozen on the muddy bank, their minds struggling to process what has just happened. Several tense minutes later, the three Marauders deposited a small girl onto the ground, before backing up several steps and staring in open shock.

The girls curly golden brown hair was matted with dirt and blood. Her skin was sallow, the skin of her face stretched over her skull tightly, and the circles under her eyes looked black as pitch. Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, and her clothing was ripped and torn and covered in blood. Her hands were covered with the stuff as well, and with horror in their eyes, her rescuers spotted a single word carved into the flesh of her forearm.

Mudblood.

"Sweet mother of Merlin…" Lily breathed softly, "We need to get her to Pomfrey now." When none of the boys moved, she snapped briskly, "Now boys!" her tone filled with authority, although her green eyes held fear at seeing the word carved into the mysterious girl's arm.

At the harsh tone of Lily's voice, the girl's eyes snapped open and she jolted to her feet, swaying only slightly as she grabbed her wand that they boys had found and placed beside her and levelled it very carefully before the group standing before her.

"Where. Am. I." She bit out, her eyes flashing and her hair sparking with electricity. James quickly stepped in front of Lily, his hands held up in surrender, but her face had gone even more ashen, if that was possible, at the sight of him. The strange girl drank him in with her eyes, greedily, before lowering her wand and studying the rest of them. Her golden eyes danced over Lily's face, before flitting to Remus, and then to Sirius, who fixed her golden eyes with his own grey ones, causing a flush to crawl slowly up her neck. Then she spotted Peter, and it was like all the warmth had gone from the world, the way she looked at him, her lip curling in contempt and her eyes filled with relentless hatred. Involuntarily, Peter took a step backwards, and her smile became predatory. Quick as lightning, she darted forward, and snagged Peter by the left forearm, causing him to gasp sharply in pain.

"You've seen mine, now show me yours." She snarled, jutting her chin towards the word carved in her left arm. Peter squeaked in fear, his beady eyes looking for an escape, but she gave him none as she forcefully shoved the sleeve of his jumper up around his elbow, revealing a writhing snake protruding from a black skull permanently inked into his skin.

Faintly, she heard yelps of shock from the boys standing around them, but she did not heed them as she carefully pressed her wand against Peter's neck, her eyes flashing with murderous intent.

"How dare you." She spoke quietly. "How could you do this, betray them like this. THEY WERE YOUR FRIENDS! YOU SET EVERYTHING IN MOTION!" She screamed, her eyes rolling wildly. Peter jerked out of her grasp, panting heavily, and her mouth opened once more, the beginning of a curse rolling past her lips, but with a small, mocking, wave to the people who had treated him like family before transforming into a large rat, who was gone before she could react. Howling with rage, she turned towards a shell-shocked James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius, who were all regarding her as though she had grown an extra head. Her eyes were unseeing as she began to whisper rapidly to herself.

"About 1979 I'd image… that dirty rat… Ron… how did I end up here… Deluminator… Sirius, James, Remus, Lily, alive…" Cautiously, Lily stepped forward, and the girl skittered backwards like a frightened animal.

"Who are you?" Lily's voice was barely above a whisper. A wide smile bloomed on the girl's face.

"I'm Hermione Granger. It's a pleasure to meet you, James, Lily, Remus, Sirius." Her voice was unnaturally high, and before anyone could make another move, Hermione collapsed on the ground in a dead faint.

"She's barmy…" Sirius whispered to himself, horror filling his voice.

 **AN: Two updates in one week! Wow, I must be breaking some kind of record. Thanks for reading, leave me a review if you'd like!  
Next chapter will be out on Sunday :)**

 **Xo**

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	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So, I'd like to start by thanking everyone who has favorited and followed this story so far. It means the world to me that people actually look forward to and enjoy the stories that I have to write. I know it's not Monday yet, but I really couldn't wait to get this next chapter up. Also, I'm going to start replying to my reviewers in the beginning of each chapter, so:**

 **padfootsnuffles: I'm glad you're looking forward to the next chapter! Hopefully it doesn't disappoint!  
Antjex3: Awe thank you! I've got so many ideas swirling around in my head and I'm definitely going to do my best to make this as original as possible, especially since the "time-travel" trope is so common in Sirmione fics!  
Shola2001: I also am not a huge RonxHermione fan. Their relationship just always seemed so awkward to me!  
versatyle: Glad you liked it! I hope you enjoy this new chapter just as much.  
leonix2009: Thanks for your review! I think if Hermione hadn't been so disoriented she would've cursed Peter as well. Don't worry, the next time we meet up with the slimy rat, I'm sure she'll have her chance ;)**

 **DISCLAIMER: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not I.**

For the second time in twenty-four hours, Hermione Granger exploded into consciousness, her golden brown eyes wide with horror and the gears in her brain turning so fast that you could practically hear them clicking and whirring. She bolted upright so fast that Remus nearly fell out of the chair beside her bed he was sitting in. Her bloodshot eyes danced over her surroundings, rapidly taking stock of all four of the Marauders, in addition to Lily, sitting around her, in what appeared to be the Hogwarts Hospital Wing.

"You're awake." It wasn't a question, and Sirius Black's tone was, well, serious. Hermione's eyes settled on him, and the haunted look within their depths made shiver slightly.

"So, it would seem." She concluded. "Where's my wand?" She inquired in her politest tone of voice, and Sirius looked her up and down carefully, his eyes full of questions, before answering in an equally nonchalant tone.

"You'll get it back just as soon as you've answered some questions." Hermione's eyes narrowed just slightly at this proclamation.

"And what questions would those be, Mr. Black?" She asked coolly. At this point, it seemed that James Potter could simply no longer take it.

"How about we start with just who the bloody hell you are?" He snapped, his voice full of venom. "And then you can tell us just exactly how you knew about Peter, when none of us have ever laid eyes on you before!" His chest heaved as he glared and Hermione, and Remus walked over to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, I believe we'd all like answers to those questions." The sage voice of Albus Dumbledore reverberated through the room, and as Hermione studied the man who had once told her she was a witch, she was slightly taken aback to see that his eyes were not twinkling. Her mind whirling, Hermione offered up the only excuse she could think of.

"I'm a Seer." Dumbledore studied her, and she was sure that he knew she was lying. But he simply waved his hand for her to go on, and she took another deep breath to steady herself. "I've seen terrible things to come…" Hermione paused, her voice feeling as though it was stuck in her throat. "Voldemort… he kills so many people. I can't let it happen." She stared defiantly into Dumbledore's eyes, and she was rewarded when they twinkled slightly. James and Sirius glared at her in suspicion, and Remus studied her with a calculating gaze.

"Ms. Granger, would you mind telling me how you managed to breach the wards of Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked politely, the twinkle in his eyes growing. Hermione bit her lip.

"I'm not entirely sure…" She carefully pulled the Deluminator out of her pocket. Dumbledore's eyes were practically shining now, and Hermione knew that he'd completely figured her out. "I clicked this, and I was taken here."

"From where?" Sirius demanded, his tone harsh. "You just show up here, and fall out of the sky into the bloody Black Lake, then you out Peter as a Death Eater, tell us you're a Seer and we're just supposed to believe you on blind faith?"

James scoffed. "Unlikely."

Dumbledore held up his hand, and the room was once again silent. Studying Hermione carefully once more, Dumbledore spoke, and air of finality in his tone.

"Ms. Granger, am I correct in assuming you have no place to stay?" Hermione nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"Misters Black and Lupin, am I incorrect in the fact that the three of you are planning to move into a flat in Hogsmeade together?" The young men nodded mutely.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together in triumph. "Well then! It's all settled. Hermione will be moving in with the two of you, at least until she is able to find more suitable accommodations."

Immediately the room was filled with Sirius' indignant tones , and Remus' more quiet, but still argumentative ones, as they shouted themselves hoarse at Dumbledore. At this ruckus, Madam Pomfrey bustled into the room, swatting each of the boys soundly.

"My patient needs quiet!" She insisted, glaring at the sullen young men. Hermione pushed herself off the bed, unsteady at first, and fended off the insistent hands of Pomfrey. "I'm fine!" She pushed the woman off her and strode to stand directly in front of Sirius.

"My wand?" She asked, her voice dripping with false kindness. Sirius curled his lip before placing Hermione's wand into her outstretched hand.

"Thank you." She told him in that same falsely nice tone.

"My pleasure, kitten." Sirius replied, smirking slightly when Hermione curled her lip into a snarl. Dumbledore chuckled quietly, watching this exchange. James rolled his eyes.

Moving into a rather small flat with two-thirds of the Marauders was predictably awkward. James and Lily stuck around; presumably to make sure Hermione didn't go completely mental and attack one of their friends. Lily skirted the edges of whichever room Hermione happened to be in; presumably skittish after the events of the afternoon, for which Hermione could not blame her.

They must think I'm absolutely cracked. She thought to herself. Although, I very well may be. I am, after all, currently in the process of becoming roommates with my best friend's dead godfather, and our dead professor. A choked sort of giggle bubbled out of Hermione's mouth against her will, and Sirius shot her a look that clearly stated that he thought she was off her rocker; the same look he'd been frequently giving her since he'd pulled her from the lake. James stepped protectively in front of Lily, and Hermione's expression became one of embarrassment.

"I'm going to go… wash up." She muttered, rushing to the washroom.

Hermione stared at herself in the mirror, barely recognizing the person she had become. Shedding her ruined clothing, she critically examined her skeletal form in the mirror. Each of her ribs was clearly visible, and various scars marked her skin; a long-healed purplish scar ran across them on the right side - a souvenir from the Department of Mysteries in her fifth year, as well as the cursed Mudblood on her left arm being the most prominent. The skin of her face was stretched so tightly over the bones of her skull that it was almost translucent, her eyes sunken into two dark holes. She grimaced at how utterly unattractive she was, and then laughed manically to herself for a moment when she realized how absolutely absurd it was to be thinking about such things, considering her current situation.

Turning away from her offensive reflection, she stepped under the steam of the shower, and watched the muddy water swirl around the drain by her feet. Slowly, as the water washed away the physical remains of the last strenuous days, tears began to slip down Hermione's cheeks as memories danced through her brain.

Sirius laughed as he dodged the first jet of red light from Bellatrix's wand.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Bella dear!" He mocked, his mouth upturned in his trademark smirk.

He wasn't fast enough to avoid her second curse which hit him directly in the chest. His eyes widened in surprise as he stumbled backwards into the Veil, which fluttered softly, before he disappeared…

Pain, nothing but pain as Hermione writhed on the floor of Malfoy Manor, begging to die as the Cruciatus washed through her very bones…

Remus Lupin lay on the frigid stone floor of the Great Hall among others who had fallen, his wife, Nymphadora Tonks beside him, their arms stretched out beside themselves as though to reach for each other one last time…

Ron, eyes unseeing, staring at nothing…

Hermione realized that the water had long since run cold, though she had not felt the change in temperature. Shivering, she grabbed a terry cloth towel from the rack on the back of the door, wrapping herself tightly in it before realizing she did not have any clothes. This fact prompted a new wave of hysterical tears, until Hermione pulled herself together enough to stumble into the sitting room where the Marauders and Lily all sat, laughing and chatting amongst themselves, although the mood was less raucous than usual, due to the notable absence of Peter. Sniffling quietly, Hermione, her voice hollow, spoke.

"Lily? Would I be able to borrow some clothes? At least until I can get some more of my own?" Everyone's eyes turned towards her, and Hermione was acutely aware of the fact that she was wearing no more than a towel. Lily studied her, with a softness in her face that Hermione had not expected. Lily's voice was warm when she answered.

"Of course." Lily lent Hermione an oversized jumper to sleep in, and she thanked Lily profusely, promising to return it as soon as she was able. Lily waved her off, telling her not to worry. Hermione smiled tentatively at the exceptionally kind witch, and was struck with how much Harry was like his mother. A wave of homesickness washed over her, and Lily studied Hermione carefully as her face paled just slightly.

"You're more than welcome to stay and talk with us, if you'd like." She offered gently. Hermione shook her head, not meeting Lily's eyes, looking off into the distance without seeing.

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll just head to bed. Goodnight. Thank you again." Her tone was stilted, and she practically ran out of the room, darting into the spare bedroom and shutting the door firmly behind her.

James, Lily, Remus and Sirius had a rather somber conversation as the strange witch slept.

"There's obviously something not right about her…" James was saying. Sirius nodded in agreement.

"Yeah she's a few pieces short of a full chess set if you know what I mean." Remus hummed in agreement with his friends.

"How do we know she's not dangerous?" He queried. Sirius snorted.

"Obviously she's dangerous mate, did you not see that shit she pulled with Peter today? Woman's deranged I tell you!" Lily, ever the voice of reason, frowned before chiming in.

"You're all idiots. Admittedly, she is a little… strange… but Dumbledore wouldn't have sent her to live with you if she was seriously unstable. Did you see that scar on her arm? She's obviously been through a lot and the least we can do is be kind to her." Lily spoke passionately, and James studied the love of his life for a moment, before dropping a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"Okay, love. I'll be nice." Remus nodded in agreement, murmuring his consent, but Sirius frowned.

"I won't be! There's something wrong with that witch and I'm going to find out what."

 **AN: Thank you once again for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave me a review if you did! Next chapter will be up Monday!**

 **Xo**

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	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hello again my lovelies! Welcome back to _Turn on the Light._ I just want to thank everyone again for the wonderful response that this story has had so far. And now, to answer some reviews!**

 **leonix2009: I absolutely agree that they can't trust anyone right off the bat! I think it would be unrealistic for them to just immediately all become the best of friends. Dumbledore has his reasons for putting them together, which you'll see at the start of this chapter. Thanks for your review and I hope you like Ch. 4!  
gabytahijar: Don't worry, I have no plans to abandon this story! I've got almost the entire thing outlined already, so I have an idea how the story is going to end. However, I am in school and so there will be times during the year where I'll have to take a break from updating - final exam season and stuff. I love this story but uni comes first!  
KateKat1992: I'm glad you're liking it so far! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.  
Damonsprincesss: I'm glad you liked the Lily/Hermione dynamic so far! There's a part in Prisoner of Azkaban where Remus mentions to Harry that Lily was an uncommonly kind witch - I'm basing how I write Lily off of that. **

**DISCLAIMER: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not I.**

Albus Dumbledore paced slowly around his circular study in the tallest tower of Hogwarts Castle, gently stroking his beard with his left hand. Ms. Hermione Granger certainly added a new set of variables to the equation, and although he wouldn't admit it, Dumbledore was slightly off kilter. He did not like unknowns, instead preferring to subtly manipulate situations until they fit the needs of what he called, 'the greater good'. The introduction of Hermione shredded his carefully laid plans to ribbons. He hoped, that by placing Ms. Granger with the young Mr.'s Black and Lupin, he would once again be able to regain control of the situation. Musing quietly to himself, he continued pacing, until the stars in the sky had came and went, and the sun was a sliver of pink on the horizon.

Hermione woke at the crack of dawn, padding quietly out to the kitchen and unobtrusively making herself a cup of tea. Settling in to a worn chair in the sitting room, she curled her feet underneath herself and slowly sipped her tea, the warmth seeming to fill her from the inside out. She felt worn, and her body ached deeply, both old wounds and new making their presence on her skin known. She groaned under her breath as she shifted slightly and a bruise on her side brushed against the arm of the chair she was sitting in.

Remus studied the strange girl from where he stood in the entryway to the parlour. Her hair, when not matted with blood and dirt, was a dark honey brown, curling wildly down to her waist. Her skin was sallow, and pulled tight over her bones, as though she hadn't had a proper meal in years. She was mottled with bruises and cuts, and to put it simply, Remus thought she looked like she'd been to hell and back. However, he didn't think she looked dangerous. In fact, quite contrary to the opinions that Sirius seemed to have formed, Remus thought that Hermione looked rather fragile, with her haunted eyes and hands that shook at every moment, despite her obvious efforts to still them. As she groaned, Remus flinched, his heart going out to the small, broken witch.

Clearing his throat to announce his presence, he winced internally as Hermione just about jumped out of her skin at the sound.

"Good morning," he greeted her warmly, smiling shyly. Hermione studied him for just a moment before offering her own, very small, smile in return. "Morning," she mumbled, hiding behind her mass of hair. "Did you sleep well?" He asked gently. Hermione nodded, but as Remus caught a glimpse of her face, he noticed that the circles under her eyes were even darker than they had been the previous day.

"I'll just get out of your way." She murmured, her voice barely above a whisper as she rose, her eyes flickering back and forth towards the exit. Remus gently reached out, and softly took her bony hand in his own.

"Stay, please. It's no trouble." Hermione stared at Remus, and for a moment, he had the uncomfortable feeling that she was looking right through him.

"I'm sorry." She stuttered, before turning and fleeing. She darted past Sirius, who had just entered the room, and Sirius looked at Remus, wiggling his eyebrows.

"You really know how to clear a room, hey Moony?" He joked, causing Remus to look churlish. "I'm just joking mate. She's a fucking odd bird, that one."

About an hour later, the small flat was deceptively quiet, and Hermione tentatively padded out into the kitchen, dressed in a pair of jeans and an old Gryffindor jumper of Lily's that hung, baggy and shapeless, on her skeletal frame. Hermione fidgeted self consciously with the sleeves of the sweater, making sure the cursed scar on her arm was completely covered. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a velvety voice rang through the silence.

"I must say, _kitten_ , that jumper suits you." Sirius' gaze was icy, and Hermione thrust her chin out stubbornly as she walked purposefully towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Sirius demanded, his tone suspicious.

"I don't see how it's any of your business, but if you must know, I thought I'd get a job. Mudbloods like me don't have our inheritance to rely on, you see." She spat back waspishly. Sirius let out a low growl, and took several menacing steps forward until he and Hermione were toe to toe, each glaring with unadulterated hatred into the others' eyes. At such close range, Hermione was able to intimately study all the shades of grey in Sirius' irises, and she found herself dreadfully missing the clever, flirtatious, mischievous older Sirius. A memory flashed through her subconscious.

 _Sirius fell almost as if in slow motion, his eyes widening just slightly in disbelief. The Veil fluttered, as if moved by a strong breeze, before becoming still once more. Blood roared in Hermione's ears as she slowly turned to face Harry, whose mouth was open in a silent scream of grief..._

She stepped back a half-step, and Sirius grinned ferally, as though he had just won something important.

"I suppose that's all right." His voice was conversational, though his face was standoffish. "The sooner I don't have to look at your zombie face anymore the better." Hermione hissed under her breath at the insult, but didn't retort, instead, spinning sharply on her heel and exiting the flat, slamming the door behind her, leaving nothing but a lingering scent of her hair.

Sirius swore profusely once her emaciated figure had vanished from sight. He couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was about the witch that drove him mad, but he was certain that whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

That first altercation with Sirius set the tone for their relationship. Hermione, who had acquired a job at Dogweed and Deathcap, the local Herbology shop, avoided the flat at all costs, spending nearly every waking hour either working, or poring over obscure tomes on time-travel and horcruxes with a pint of Butterbeer in a dimly lit corner of the Three-Broomsticks. She would not admit it to anyone, much less herself, but Sirius' torment of her was taking it's toll. The offending wizard, however, could not be bothered one whit, coming home every night with a new floozy on his arm, and spending his days gallivanting about with his friends, he spared not a single thought to the curly haired young witch that happened to be living in his guest room, except to say unbearably nasty things to her.

Several days after Hermione's unceremonious arrival in 1979, Hermione's boss had given her the afternoon off, and she immediately rushed home, eager to delve back into the research she had been slowly compiling. She had been slowly formulating a plan on how change the future, and she believed she had almost worked it out entirely. She sat at the kitchen table, scraps of parchment littering the surface around her and muttering darkly as she flipped through the various books she had spread open. She furiously scribbled notes, biting her bottom lip as her quill flew across the page.

 _Time is not cyclical, as so many witches and wizards imagine it to be, but could rather be interpreted as a tapestry of various interwoven futures and pasts..._

She furrowed her brow, so entirely focused on what she was writing that she did not notice Sirius enter the kitchen, suspiciously peeking over her shoulder to glance at her notes. He drew in a deep breath, and the sharpness of the sound pulled Hermione from her research. She stood so quickly she sent the chair she had been sitting on skidding backwards, and spun on the spot, fear filling her golden brown eyes.

"Sirius," she breathed nervously. "I didn't think anyone was home." His grey eyes were colder than Hermione had ever seen them, but he composed his body into an exaggeratedly relaxed stance, lifting his wand and pointing it at her casually. Hermione stiffened at the threat, but she lifted her hands in surrender.

"I can explain." She pleaded softly, looking imploringly at him. Sirius' lip curled up, a sneer worthy of Severus Snape on his aristocratic features.

"Okay, kitten," he spat darkly. "Let's see how you talk yourself out of this." Hermione opened her mouth, and even as the warning that Professor Dumbledore had given her in her third year rang in her mind - Terrible things happen to those who meddle with time - she could not stop the words from erupting from her lips. Sirius, although he wasn't sure what excuse he had expected, surely did not expect the words that now hung in the air between them.

"I'm from the future."

 **AN: This chapter was hell for me to write. I've probably re-written it three or four times, and I'm still not entirely certain I like how it turned out. I hope, however, that you enjoy it! Please leave me a review, and the next chapter will be uploaded next Monday.**

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	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hello again my lovelies! I thought I'd put this chapter up today because it's Sirius' birthday today! Thank you so much to everyone who has favorited, followed and reviewed this story so far. I love and appreciate all of you so much. And now, some answers to the reviews I got for the last chapter.  
ALSO THERE IS A VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END SO BE SURE TO READ IT!  
MissTFelton625369: I'm so glad you like it! I hope this next chapter lives up to your expectations.  
Damonsprincesss: I'm glad you liked it!  
leonix2009: Dumbledore is very manipulative, you're right! I hope you enjoy this new chapter.  
Blue Raging Fire111: I wasn't sure about Hermione revealing herself as a time traveller so early either, but I rewrote the previous chapter a bunch of times before I decided that the story would flow better if Sirius found out super early. I hope you like this new chapter!  
**

 **DISCLAIMER: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not I.**

 _Previously:_

 _"I can explain." She pleaded softly, looking imploringly at him._

 _Sirius' lip curled up, a sneer worthy of Severus Snape on his aristocratic features._

 _"Okay, kitten," he spat darkly. "Let's see how you talk yourself out of this." Hermione opened her mouth, and even as the warning that Professor Dumbledore had given her in her third year rang in her mind - Terrible things happen to those who meddle with time - she could not stop the words from erupting from her lips. Sirius, although he wasn't sure what excuse he had expected, surely did not expect the words that now hung in the air between them._

 _"I'm from the future."_

Sirius's mind was whirling, his grey eyes narrowed in suspicion at the strange witch who he held at wand point. Her hands were up as if in surrender, but they shook just slightly. Sirius studied her carefully, taking in her every detail and absorbing every fact that her appearance provided him. Finally, he flicked his wand towards the sofa, feigning nonchalance, while his insides twisted.

"Sit." He ordered, his voice betraying his inner turmoil. Hermione couldn't bring herself to look at him as she sat on the sofa, her back stiff with tension. _In all likelihood,_ she mused to herself, _I've already irrevocably altered the timeline simply by being here. And I've also outed Peter already. If I'm going to meddle with time, I might as well do it properly._ Out of the corner of her eye she could see the soft green flash of the Floo, and in moments several irate individuals stood in front of her. Lily, ever the voice of reason, was trying to calm a apoplectic Sirius Black, who was shouting about how Hermione must be " _absolutely cracked if she thinks she's from the bloody future_!". James was pacing restlessly, rambling on about " _from the future, what the bloody hell_ ", and Remus simply stood stoically, trying to get his friends to see " _the logic you idiots I'm surprised we didn't figure it out before_ ".

"You're lying!" Sirius screeched, pointing his wand desperately at Hermione, who flinched noticeably. James just collapsed into a chair, dropping his head into his hands and groaning loudly. Lily, her green eyes flashing, spoke quietly, her tone as cold as ice.

"Let her explain." Four pairs of eyes locked onto Hermione, and she felt her mouth go absolutely dry. Swallowing hard, she spoke, her voice raspy with nerves.

"I suppose I'll start from the beginning…" Looking nervously at the floor, she took a deep steadying breath before she began. "On July thirty-first, nineteen-eighty, a little boy named Harry James Potter was born to Lily and James Potter. Sirius Black was named his godfather, although Harry did not find out about this until much later in life. Shortly after he was born, a Seer made a prophecy. _Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives_ …" As her words hung in the stillness of the air, Hermione studiously avoided meeting the eyes of the rooms other occupants, forcing herself to go on.

"Voldemort decided that this prophecy must be talking about Harry. James and Lily went into hiding, using the Fidelius Charm, but they chose their Secret Keeper poorly. Peter Pettigrew sold them out to Voldemort, and on Halloween night of nineteen eighty-one, he went to their house in Godric's Hollow. James died trying to give Lily the chance to run. Lily gave up her life for her son, and in doing so, granted him impenetrable magical protection. When Voldemort's wand turned on Harry, the curse backfired, and Voldemort was vanquished." The room was deathly quiet around her and tears slid slowly down Hermione's face, but she soldiered on.

"Sirius Black, enraged by Peter's betrayal, went after his friend in a fit of rage. But it was a setup, and Sirius was sent to Azkaban prison. Harry was raised by Vernon and Petunia Dursley. I met him for the first time on the Hogwarts Express in nineteen ninety one. We weren't friends at first, but Harry and... Ron Weasley…" she choked a little on the name, "saved me from a mountain troll at Halloween in our first year. After that, we were inseparable. First year, Harry found himself face to face with Voldemort once again. He was nothing more than a fraction of what he once was, and he was trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone, so he could regain his body. Harry stopped him again. In our second year, Voldemort tried to return once more, but in a different way. He had sealed a piece of his soul in a diary. His soul possessed a first year girl, forcing her to open the Chamber of Secrets, and release a basilisk upon the student body. Harry killed the basilisk, and stabbed the diary with one of the fangs, thwarting Voldemort again." Hermione looked down into her lap, at her shaking hands, willing them to be still as she continued.

"Third year seemed as though it would be the most normal year yet. We had a new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin. I found out that he was a werewolf halfway through the year, but I didn't tell Harry and Ron. Harry had enough to worry about. Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban during the summer, and everyone thought he was out to kill Harry. However, he was after Peter Pettigrew, who had been posing as Ron's pet rat for the past thirteen years. One day, Sirius, in his animagus form, dragged Ron through the tunnel under the Whomping Willow, and me and Harry followed. Professor Lupin, watched us on the Marauder's Map, and came down to meet us. They explained everything to Harry, and we planned to take Pettigrew to the castle, so that Sirius' name could be cleared and Harry could have a real family. Professor Snape, however, had also followed us, thinking he could turn Sirius in for a reward. I stunned him, and were going to transport him back to the castle with us as well." At this, Hermione's expression twisted bitterly.

"But Remus had forgotten that it was a full moon, and he transformed. Pettigrew escaped, and we barely got away. Sirius was captured, and the Dementor's were called to give him the Kiss. Using a Time Turner, Harry and I went back and freed Sirius, who flew into the night on the back of a hippogriff named Buckbeak." Hermione tentatively looked at her audience, who all looked equally horrified and captivated at her story.

"The Tri-Wizard Tournament was held in our fourth year. Harry was entered illegally by a Death Eater in disguise, and entered into the Tournament as a second Hogwarts Champion. He made it through the first two tasks, but in the third task, the Tri-Wizard Cup had been charmed to be a Portkey. It transported Harry, and the other Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory, to a dark graveyard. Harry watched as Pettigrew murdered Cedric, and then he was bound to a headstone, and his blood was taken to be used in a terrible potion. This potion gave Voldemort his body back. He finally returned, after years of trying. Harry barely escaped that graveyard, and had nightmares about what happened there for months afterwards. In our fifth year, the Ministry refused to believe that Voldemort had returned. Harry was experiencing visions that Voldemort was placing in his head. One of these visions showed Sirius, on the floor of the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry for Magic, and so Harry gathered his friends and we went to save Sirius. We didn't realize until after that it had been a trap. The Death Eaters met us there, and we would have all died if Sirius and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix hadn't come to our rescue. But we still didn't all make it out that night. Sirius fell through the Veil, and Harry lost yet another person he loved." Hermione was sobbing now.

"Our sixth year was dark. Harry and Dumbledore began to hunt horcruxes. In the last month of term, Dumbledore was killed. We didn't go back to school for our seventh year. Instead, Harry, Ron, and I, went on the run, hunting down and destroying the remaining horcruxes. The wizarding world was in chaos, and no one was safe. We destroyed two of the remaining five horcruxes. We knew that one more was at Hogwarts, and that one was Voldemort's snake, Nagini. We didn't know what the seventh horcrux was until it was too late… We took our final stand at Hogwarts. We destroyed the horcrux that was there, and we only had two left. Neville Longbottom killed the snake, and there was only one more." She sucked in a deep breath, preparing herself for what came next.

"The last horcrux was Harry himself. He went to Voldemort willingly, sacrificing himself for us. But Voldemort didn't stop. When I was sent here, we were losing, so many people were dead. Remus, Tonks, Fred... R-Ron…" she hiccoughed, "had just been killed, and I was distraught. I found the Deluminator in his pocket, and when I clicked it, the light brought me here." Reaching the end of her tale, Hermione gently looked at the four individuals in front of her. Lily was silently sobbing, and James was gripping Lily's hand so tightly that his knuckles were white. Sirius' face was ashen, his grey eyes haunted. Remus just stared at Hermione in horror.

"I'm not going to let it happen that way." She whispered. Sirius' face darkened at her words.

"None of us are." His mouth twisted into a tense grin, and he stiffly held his hand out.

"I believe I owe you an apology, Granger."

Lily's hands shook as James grasped them gently, tears shining in his eyes. Her mind was filled with the dark tale that Hermione had just wove, and her heart broke at the fact that her son was at the heart of it all. James ran his hand across her cheek, wiping away her tears.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any, seeing as we don't have very much time, according to Hermione." James let out a choked sort of teary laugh, before kneeling gently on the floor in the middle of Sirius and Remus' dingy flat, and pulling a black velvet ring box from the pocket of his trousers. Lily lifted her hand to her mouth, covering her shock, tears now sliding down her cheeks for an entirely different reason.

"Lily Jane Evans. I've loved you since I saw you on the train to Hogwarts in our very first year. I know you hated me at first, but I never once stopped trying to win your heart. I would be very honoured if you'd consider giving it to me for the rest of our lives." James took a deep breath, steadying himself in the wake of the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. "Will you marry me?" Lily was speechless for a moment, before she launched herself into his arms, her mouth capturing his. Their tongues battled for dominance for a moment before Remus gently but firmly cleared his throat, and she became acutely aware of the fact that they were not the only two people in the room. A blush spread up her neck, and she giggled happily.

"So is that a yes?" James asked cheekily. Lily just giggled again.

"Yes, you idiot, it's a yes!" James slipped the a simple ring on her finger, before grabbing her face and kissing her deeply once more. Remus grinned happily at his two best friends as Sirius wolf-whistled and catcalled the enamoured couple.

Hermione still sat on the couch, a single tear dropping from her eye. Rising silently from the sofa, she carefully snuck out of the parlour, leaving the four friends to celebrate in peace.

 _"We didn't take anything!" Hermione sobbed frantically, her voice hoarse as Bellatrix pinned her to the floor._

 _"I… don't… believe… you..." Bellatrix whispered in a sing-song tone in her ear, before she ran her tongue over Hermione's ear, giggling madly as the bound witch shuddered. "Crucio…" She whispered, her tone almost loving, as the curse gripped Hermione._

 _"Please… please!" Hermione begged, her voice ragged. "We didn't take it!" Bellatrix growled in frustration._

 _"I will break you, little mudblood…" She pulled a silver dagger from her robes, caressing her finger lovingly over the blade before pressing the tip to Hermione's left forearm. Distantly, Hermione heard someone screaming, before she realized that it was her._

Hermione jerked herself from her nightmare, only to find herself wrapped in someones arms. Struggling in blind panic, Hermione thrashed hard, breaking free of her restraints and running to cower in the corner of her room, her eyes rolling in her head before they focused on the figure sitting on her bed.

"Sirius?" She whispered, her voice raw. His hand was reached towards her, as though she were a frightened animal, and his eyes were uncommonly kind as he looked at her.

"It's okay, kitten, it was just a nightmare." Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously at him, and he backtracked. "You're safe here."

"I get them too, you know." He admitted, his voice rough and quiet. "I know that I'm the last person in the world you'd probably like to talk to, to be fair, I've been a bloody wanker, but if you ever need someone who understands…" He trailed off a moment, taking in a breath. "I'm just down the hall." He straightened up, and with one last unreadable look at Hermione, left.

 **AN: HEY GUYS OKAY SO THIS AN IS REALLY IMPORTANT SO PLEASE PLEASE READ IT! I KNOW I USUALLY UPDATE ON SUNDAY/MONDAY BUT NEXT MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH, THERE WILL NOT BE A NEW CHAPTER, I REPEAT, THERE WILL NOT BE A NEW CHAPTER. I'M GOING ON HOLIDAYS WITH MY BOYFRIEND FOR UNI READING WEEK AND I DOUBT I'LL HAVE INTERNET TO UPLOAD. I TRIED TO MAKE THIS CHAPTER A LITTLE BIT LONGER IN ORDER TO MAKE UP FOR NEXT WEEKS LACK OF UPDATE. PLEASE LEAVE ME A REVIEW AND I'LL SEE YOU GUYS IN A COUPLE WEEKS.**

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	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hello my lovelies! I am so sorry about the delay in posting this, but I've just been so tired and unmotivated to do much of anything other than lay in my bed all day. This chapter is quite short but I hope you enjoy it all the same.  
Adhara Cassiopea Black: Thank you, my holidays were wonderful! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.  
aryan778: I love the Sirius/Hermione moments as well, they're such a dynamic pairing.  
leonix2009: Thank you!  
Blue Raging Fire111: I'm glad you're loving it! And yes, she definitely glossed over some things but you'll just have to wait and see how that all comes together ;)  
geekymom: Thank you! I'm happy you like it. **

**DISCLAIMER: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not I.**

Despite Sirius' uncommon kindness towards her the previous evening, Hermione found herself seething angrily at him yet again the following morning, his amused grey eyes staring unruffled into her narrowed brown ones.

"You are an absolute arse, Sirius Black!" Hermione shouted angrily, her hair flying wildly about her still sunken face and her eyes flashing. Sirius just grinned, baring all of his teeth.

"Well it's true! I have never seen such a doxies nest of hair in all of my life!" Hermione bit her lip to keep the tears from sliding down her face, and was only partially successful, as one escaped regardless.

"I'm sorry we can't all be blonde slags, Black." She spat venomously.

"My life would certainly be better if you were. I definitely wouldn't want you as you are - too many scars for my taste." It was at that moment, when he had the audacity to wink at her, that Sirius Black realized that he'd made a grave error in judgement. In a flurry of motion, Hermione flung herself at him, and a hot flash of pain bloomed across his right cheekbone. Sirius braced himself for another onslaught, but Hermione simply marched past him and out into the warm morning.

Taking a steadying breath of fresh air, Hermione inhaled, her lungs expanding and her mind calming. The birds whistled cheerfully as her feet gently tapped on the cobbled road. It was early, the sun was low in the sky, and the street deserted as she walked towards the herbology shop where she was employed. She had gone no more than several yards before she realized that the birds had gone ominously silent. She stopped moving and slowly turned around. A figure stood in the middle of the street, backlit by the sun so that Hermione could not make out their features at such a distance. A shaky breath rattled through her tightly clenched teeth and she steeled herself as the figure walked closer at an exaggeratedly casual pace. Hermione slowly moved her hand to grasp the handle of her wand, and the figure laughed. The voice was masculine, velvety and rich.

"I don't believe I've seen you in these parts before." The man had drawn closer now, standing several steps away from Hermione and studying her with carefully calculated interest. His dark hair was slicked back and perfectly parted, his high cheekbones and full lips giving him an aristocratic air. A shiver ran up Hermione's spine as the man's dark eyes penetrated her own, but she tossed her hair arrogantly and forced confidence into her tone as she replied.

"I've recently moved here from abroad," she answered evasively. "I'm sorry, but I must be going, or I'll be late for work."

The man lifted an arched eyebrow, but did not press her further. Instead, he offered her his arm, and smiled charmingly at her.

"Let me escort you, it is after all, the gentlemanly thing to do." Hermione could think of no polite way to refuse him, and she gingerly took hold of his arm, ignoring how her skin crawled at his touch.

They began to walk, and it felt as if an eternity had passed before they stood in front of the dingy storefront of Dogweed and Deathcap.

"It was a pleasure, Miss…?" The man asked, looking at her questioningly.

"Hermione." She answered sharply, her throat tight, wanting nothing more than to escape the presence of this man who made her feel so wholly uneasy.

"Miss Hermione." The syllables of her name sounded wrong on his tongue, and she fought the urge to shudder. "I'm sure we'll be seeing one another again." His eyes flashed, and just for a moment, his pupils took on the slitted shape of a snake. Hermione's eyes widened, and she stepped back reflexively. The man simply regarded her quietly for a moment more, before turning on his heel and striding away. Hermione's heart beat at an irregular rhythm for the remainder of the day, a chilling voice whispering in her head.

 _That was Voldemort._

 **AN: Thank you so much to all you lovely people for reading! A huge shoutout to everyone who has favorited and followed this story so far. Leave me a review if you liked this chapter, and I'll hopefully see you sometime next week with the next one!**

 **XOXO**

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	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hello my lovelies! I felt so bad about updating so late after I got back from my holiday that you all get two updates in two days. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I'm so grateful to each of you.  
Adhara Cassiopea Black: Thanks for reading!  
leonix2009: I'm glad you enjoyed the update. As for your question, you'll find out the answer in future chapters and I don't want to give anything away! You'll just have to keep reading!  
Blue Raging Fire111: In my head, Voldemort isn't an old man. I always imagined that since he's so scared of death that he would somehow retain the features of someone who is in their late twenties or early thirties, rather than looking his proper age. And as for the relationship between Sirius and Hermione, I feel that it would be unrealistic for Sirius to be overprotective of her simply because he heard her having a nightmare. Emotions are more complex than that, and I want to make their relationship and it's development as real as possible. Sirius, as a young man, is headstrong, and reckless and honestly kind of a jerk and I think him and Hermione would spend a lot of their time arguing and pissing each other off at first. Sirius is a complex character and I don't think it would fit for him to suddenly care deeply about this strange girl that literally fell out of the sky. I hope this clears things up!  
**

 **DISCLAIMER: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not I.**

Hermione floated through the remainder of her day, clouds of worry filling her head. She was standing behind the counter, facing away from the door restocking the supply of Gillyweed in a jar behind the counter, her thoughts so filled with haunting images of Voldemort's snake like eyes, that she did not hear the bell on the shop door ring.

"Merlin, this place is so depressing, I don't for the life of me understand how you can stomach working here!"

Lily's warm voice rang through the shops' dusty interior, and Hermione's hands shook so hard at the unexpected sound that the jar of Gillyweed she was holding fell to the stone floor and shattered, spraying Hermione with slimy lake water. Calming her nerves, she confidently waved her wand to clear away the mess, before turning to stare accusingly at Lily. The redhead had the good grace to look abashed, circles of pink flaring on her cheeks.

"Sorry about that!" She apologized, before smiling brightly in the way that someone does when they want something. "I was just coming to whisk you away to the Three Broomsticks for drinks, you really need to unwind." Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but Lily held up a silencing hand.

"You're coming." She said, and her tone had a note of finality in it that told Hermione arguing was futile.

When they reached the Three Broomsticks, Hermione was assaulted by the familiar warmth and noise of the pub she had once frequented. The caramel scent of Butterbeer floated through the air and Hermione's mouth watered. Lily led her to a large, rounded table in the center of the pub, where James, Remus and Sirius were already seated, along with several faces which were unfamiliar to her. Lily settled into the empty seat beside James, and Hermione into the one between two unfamiliar redheads. A knot formed in her throat at the familiar shade, but she pushed her feelings down. The witch sitting next to Remus, with a rounded face, wickedly bright blue eyes, and her black hair shorn into a pixie cut smiled warmly at Hermione.

"I'm Alice Fawcett, and this is Marlene McKinnon." she gestured to the woman sitting next to Sirius. Marlene's sharp grey eyes, and thin mouth made her look severe and unfriendly, but her entire face warmed as she pushed a lock of golden hair behind her ear and smiled widely at Hermione.

"It's wonderful to meet you!" She exclaimed happily. Hermione smiled tentatively in response, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"You as well." She murmured quietly.

"And we are," The redhead to her left began grandly.

"Gideon," The one to her right remarked with flourish.

"And Fabian Prewett." The one to her left, Fabian, continued exuberantly.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Gideon took her right hand and gently brought it to his lips. Hermione's face flushed a deep shade of red, and both Gideon and Fabian watched her closely with identical wicked grins.

As the night progressed, the group of young witches and wizards became progressively more intoxicated, and explosively loud and obnoxious. Hermione's head felt light with laughter and with alcohol, and her gaze darkened slightly as she looked back and forth between Gideon and Fabian. Fabian was lazily playing with one of her unruly curls, and Gideon casually had his arm draped over the back of her chair.

"You look so much like someone I once knew…" She whispered, reaching up to touch Gideon's russet hair almost unconsciously, before turning to Fabian and studying his clear blue eyes. A sharp pang of loneliness jolted through her, and she turned away from the twins, for every time she looked at them all she could see was Ron.

Hermione didn't notice that Sirius had been watching her closely, had seen her touch Gideon's hair tenderly and stare into Fabian's eyes with abandon. His upper lip curled, and he blurted almost without thinking,

"Two wizards at once, _kitten_? I didn't peg you for that kind of witch."

Immediately, all eyes turned to him, and Sirius felt something akin to shame flood over his skin before he pushed the uncomfortable feeling away and arranged his face into his trademark smirk. Hermione's face was ashamed, as she carefully extricated herself from the Prewett twins, markedly avoiding Sirius' gaze and wishing everyone a good night before racing out into the night, stumbling slightly.

"I'll go after her." Remus muttered, fixing Sirius with a glare before following Hermione out.

For such a short witch, Remus mused, she certainly could move quite quickly. Hermione had almost reached their flat by the time Remus caught up to her, and he followed her inside, settling himself carefully on the couch to observe as the angry witch paced the living room, static sparking in her hair. A loud tapping at the window attracted both of their attention towards a regal brown owl floating at the window, a stiff white envelope in his beak. Addressed in emerald green ink, and delivered by an owl with such a sense of self-importance that it could have only come from Hogwarts, Hermione looked at the offending parchment with empty eyes and a face so terrified that Remus was sure that she would have another breakdown. As he watched from his seat on the sofa, Hermione seemed to struggle with some sort of internal battle for a moment, before gingerly retrieving and opening the envelope, as though she expected it to physically harm her. Her golden-brown eyes, which had just begun to regain some semblance of life, darkened.

The letter was concise and to the point.

 _The Headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix can be found at 727 Cackle Street, London. Your presence is requested at the next meeting on the 21st of May._

Hermione's blood boiled, and the parchment burst into flames between her fingers. Remus, emitting a shout of shock, was on his feet in an instant.

"Aguamenti!" Cool water quickly extinguished the blaze, and Remus grabbed Hermione's hands, inspecting her fingers for burns. As his gentle hands cupped Hermione's own, Hermione remembered the Remus Lupin she had known.

 _The door to Shell Cottage burst open, and Remus Lupin erupted into the small space._

 _"It's a boy!" He crowed proudly, looking younger than Hermione had ever seen him. "Tonks had the baby! We named him Teddy." His golden eyes sparkled with pride and excitement, and he beamed as Bill pumped his hand furiously._

 _"Congrats mate!" Harry and Ron both clapped him on the back happily, soft smiles on their features. A glass of Firewhiskey was shoved into his hands and he happily drained it, practically vibrating with the excitement of it all._

 _"I should be getting back! I just wanted to let you all know!" And with that, he took off out the door as fast as he had come, rushing back to his new son._

A tear slid slowly down Hermione's face, and before she could stop herself, she had launched herself into Remus' arms. He stood stiffly for a moment, before timidly patting the top of her wild head of curls.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to any of you." She whispered, so quietly that if it had not been for Remus' wolfish hearing, he wouldn't have heard her.

 **AN: Thank you all for reading this chapter! Please fav, follow, and review if you liked it. Unfortunately, due to the fact that I'm in university, I'll be spending most of the next month or so writing my final exams. This will not leave me a ton of time to write and update, although if I have time I will do my best. It is most likely, though, that this story will not be updated again until the new year. So unless I see you before then, happy holidays to you all, and I will see you all again in 2018!**

 **XOXO**

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	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hello my loves! So I just noticed that this story has 80 FOLLOWS and that's absolutely insane to me that 80 of you care enough to make sure you get updated when I upload a new chapter. So I just wanted to give a huge thank you to all of you. You're the best!  
leonix2009: I think you were right too, he was a git in the last chapter! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter.  
aryan778: Yes, Sirius definitely has some issues he needs to deal with! I promise you he will sort himself out eventually.  
Blue Raging Fire111: Thank you for the well wishes with my exams. Since I am the queen of procrastination, you are all very lucky and I wrote this chapter while I should have been studying for a lab final. Oops.  
**

 **DISCLAIMER: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not I.**

Moonlight shone through the glass panes of the manor house's main room, doing it's best to chase away the darkness that seemed to cling to the space with a preternatural grip. Lord Voldemort stood, looking contemplatively out the windows, as though thinking of nothing more consequential that what weather they would have the next day.  
A group of masked and cloaked individuals watched him warily as he turned to face them, his serpentine eyes flashing dangerously.

"I met a… most interesting witch this morning, on the recommendation of our own dear Wormtail." He began, his voice silky. There was a murmuring among the cloaked figures, for they had all heard Peter Pettigrew's testimony of the mad witch who had fallen from the sky and who somehow had known that he was in league with the Dark Lord. Voldemort held up one pale hand, and the whispers died immediately.

" _I want her_."

Sirius stared around the small flat that was 727 Crackle Street, his clear grey eyes bored as he sat in an overstuffed armchair, the deep voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt droning in the background. His eyes danced over the people gathered in the room, before landing on Hermione. They hadn't spoken since his atrocious behaviour at the Three Broomsticks several days prior, and she had purposefully taken a seat as far away from him as the room would allow. He studied her intently; her eyes were fixed intently on Professor Dumbledore, her posture stiff and her arms folded tightly across her chest. Sirius frowned slightly at the clear display of discomfort and slight hostility that the witch was portraying towards the elderly wizard. He silently took note of this, before his attention was drawn to the motion of her shaking her unruly hair slightly before dragging her bony fingers through it and gently tucking a lock behind her ear. The slight movement sent a waft of her scent floating through the air; scents of honey and parchment tickled Sirius' nose. He fought the urge to sneeze. There was a shifting throughout the room, and Sirius realized that the meeting had ended without his notice.

Sirius hated admitting his incompetence to anyone, himself included, and it irked him to no end to have to acknowledge the fact that Hermione confused him. He often caught himself staring at her while she was distracted, his eyes inexplicably drawn to her. The night when he had found her caught in the throes of darkness, screaming in her bed, trapped inside her dreams with monsters no one else could see, had shaken something inside of him. Yet he still found himself chafing with irritation at the too familiar remarks she would make; he would come home drunk, and _typical Sirius_ , she would say, shaking her head, a sadness deep in her eyes. The intimacy with which she would sometimes speak to him, so foreign to him but so obviously not unusual to her, made his head spin with the abnormality of their situation.

A sharp elbow to his ribs as he dragged his gaze once more over the figure of Hermione Granger brought him back to himself, and he turned to see James smirking at him as though he was the cat who had caught the canary.

"Something caught your fancy Pads?" James' grin grew larger, stretching over his face, and Sirius glowered darkly at his best mate, stomping past him and out into the night. James followed, guffawing loudly.

"Sirius?" A soft whisper caressed his skin through the shadows of the night, and he blinked sleep from his eyes blearily. Rubbing a hand over his face, he replied, his voice rough with sleep.

"Hermione?" She stood in his doorway, wringing her hands with nervousness.

"I can't sleep…" She admitted, her voice broken. Sirius sleepily threw back the covers beside him.

"Hop in." He muttered, fighting the urge to simply put his head back on the pillow and lose consciousness once more. Slowly, Hermione shut the door behind herself, crossing the wooden floor silently before crawling into the warmth of the blankets. "Another nightmare?" He asked gruffly. She simply nodded. He tentatively reached out to her, grabbing onto her and gathering her into his arms. She stiffened, and he whispered gently in her ear.

"If you make fun of me for telling you this, I will make your life a living hell… But when we were younger, James and Remus used to sleep with me when I had nightmares. Just relax and try to go back to sleep." Hermione stifled an almost hysterical giggle, but she found that the weight of Sirius' arms on her skin helped to keep her from descending into the sea of panic that was lurking just beneath the surface of her skin.

Within moments, she was asleep, and snoring rather loudly, to Sirius' annoyance. However, he too drifted off quickly, and they spent the night in a comforting tangle of limbs.

 **AN: Thank you all so much for reading! I hope this chapter somewhat satisfied your need for a semi-sweet Hermione/Sirius moment, and shed some light on where Sirius' head is at right now - he's just struggling with the whole situation in general, I can't image meeting and being physically attracted to someone who knew you twenty years in the future is easy! Please leave me a review if you liked this chapter, and I'll hopefully upload for you all again soon!**

 **XOXO**

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	9. Chapter 9

**AN: OKAY I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW ITS BEEN ABSOLUTELY AGES SINCE I LAST UPDATED IM SO SORRY PLEASE DON'T HATE ME. This chapter is super short and I've really been struggling with it; I know where I want the story to go I'm just having some trouble getting it there. I still hope you like it though! Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter:  
leonix2009: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter - sorry for the wait for this one; I hope you like it just as much.  
Blue Raging Fire 111: You're welcome! You'll just have to wait and see how things turn out with Voldemort, everything should unfold in the next couple chapters.  
DamonsPrincesss: Yeah, I want Hermione and Sirius' relationship to develop as naturally as possible, so it'll still be a while before things are wonderful and fluffy and great between them. **

The nightmare had once again dragged her screaming from slumber, her blood boiling and her arm aching as though the wound there had been freshly carved. She had sat on her bed, tangled in a sweaty mess of quilted fabric, breathing hard in an attempt to calm her racing heart. Her body shook in terror, and she mustered all of her Gryffindor bravery before creeping down the hall to Sirius' room.

Morning came too quickly, and Hermione blinked her heavy eyelids as she took in her unfamiliar surroundings. When she remembered the events of the previous evening, her face flushed and she carefully extricated herself from Sirius' heavy arms, crawling out of bed and tiptoeing into the hall with all the stealth she could muster. A stunned expletive quickly covered by a cough startled her, and Hermione whirled to see Remus standing in the hall, staring at her in shock and poorly disguised horror. She could feel her face redden, muttering, "I had a nightmare." quietly under her breath, before fleeing into the safety of her own bedroom, slamming the door unintentionally behind herself. Leaning her back against the closed door, she took a deep breath and shut her eyes, sinking to the floor as she tried to shove her embarrassment away.

Sirius awoke as the sharp noise of a slamming door reverberated through the previous silence of the small flat. Grumbling, he nestled deeper into his pillow, a feminine scent enveloping him. He sniffed hard, once, before his eyes shot open, sleep fleeing from his features. A smirk formed on his aristocratic features, unbidden, as he remembered Hermione sneaking in the previous night. Sirius stretched and ran a hand through his shaggy black hair before rising from bed and pulling a well worn pair of muggle sweatpants over his boxers and padding out into the kitchen. Whistling cheerfully, he methodically poured himself a glass of water, pointedly ignoring the loaded looks that a very disgruntled Remus was shooting at him from where he sat at their rickety dining table.

When Remus had very loudly cleared his throat for the third time, obviously trying to catch Sirius' attention, the latter wizard chuckled to himself.

"Alright there Moony?" He beamed at his friend. "You seem to be coming down with something." Remus' glower darkened, and as he opened his mouth, Sirius braced himself for a tirade of Minerva McGonagall proportions.

Suffice to say, he was not disappointed. Remus lectured his friend extensively on how he was "taking advantage of a girl in distress" and how he "thought you were better than that Sirius!" and "you really do need to grow up you know". Finally, when he had exhausted his breath, he simply fixed Sirius with a glare. Sirius, enjoying the ease with which he could wind up his straight-laced friend, simply smiled wider, his eyes dancing with mirth.

"She wasn't complaining Moony." Remus' face paled, and his jaw fell open, his mouth gaping in shock, before he quickly snapped his mouth shut and primly took a sip of his tea.

The weeks following Sirius' and Hermione's encounter, as she had taken to referring to it in her head, had been deceptively calm. Hermione had not found herself in Sirius' bed again, instead choosing to cast silencing charms over her room, and avoid her dark haired roommate whenever possible. Lily was nearly frantic with planning her upcoming nuptials, and frequently spirited Hermione away, aiding Hermione in her desire to be at the flat as little as possible. Preoccupied with both Lily's wedding and her avoidance of Sirius, Hermione had not noticed a small rat who had taken up quiet residence in a dark corner of Dogweed and Deathcap.

From the shadows, Wormtail simply watched, the beady eyes of his rodent form carefully studying Hermione day in and day out. Despite the unrelenting hatred he felt for her due to her involvement with his expulsion from the Marauders, he also felt strangely intrigued by her daily habits. He watched as she swept a golden brown curl behind her ear, revealing her delicate profile, as she perched daintily on a stool reading a thick tome. Wormtail shrunk further into the shadows as she shifted slightly, worried he may have been seen, but she settled again, her eyes continuing to fly over the pages as Wormtail continued to keep his watch.

 **AN: Thank you for reading! I hope it won't be quite so long until the next update - I've already begun working on the next chapter and it's coming along nicely. In the meantime, please leave me a review!**

 **Xo**

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